M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
7 But there was sin among the Israelis. God’s command to destroy everything except that which was reserved for the Lord’s treasury was disobeyed. For Achan (the son of Carmi, grandson of Zabdi, and great-grandson of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah) took some loot for himself, and the Lord was very angry with the entire nation of Israel because of this.
2 Soon after Jericho’s defeat, Joshua sent some of his men to spy on the city of Ai, east of Bethel.
3 Upon their return they told Joshua, “It’s a small city and it won’t take more than two or three thousand of us to destroy it; there’s no point in all of us going there.”
4 So approximately three thousand soldiers were sent—and they were soundly defeated. 5 About thirty-six of the Israelis were killed during the attack, and many others died while being chased by the men of Ai as far as the quarries. The Israeli army was paralyzed with fear at this turn of events. 6 Joshua and the elders of Israel tore their clothing and lay prostrate before the Ark of the Lord until evening, with dust on their heads.
7 Joshua cried out to the Lord, “O Jehovah, why have you brought us over the Jordan River if you are going to let the Amorites kill us? Why weren’t we content with what we had? Why didn’t we stay on the other side? 8 O Lord, what am I to do now that Israel has fled from her enemies! 9 For when the Canaanites and the other nearby nations hear about it, they will surround us and attack us and wipe us out. And then what will happen to the honor of your great name?”
10-11 But the Lord said to Joshua, “Get up off your face! Israel has sinned and disobeyed my commandment and has taken loot when I said it was not to be taken; and they have not only taken it, they have lied about it and have hidden it among their belongings. 12 That is why the people of Israel are being defeated. That is why your men are running from their enemies—for they are cursed.[a] I will not stay with you any longer unless you completely rid yourselves of this sin.
13 “Get up! Tell the people, ‘Each of you must undergo purification rites in preparation for tomorrow, for the Lord your God of Israel says that someone has stolen from him, and you cannot defeat your enemies until you deal with this sin. 14 In the morning you must come by tribes, and the Lord will point out the tribe to which the guilty man belongs. And that tribe must come by its clans and the Lord will point out the guilty clan; and the clan must come by its families, and then each member of the guilty family must come one by one. 15 And the one who has stolen that which belongs to the Lord shall be burned with fire, along with everything he has, for he has violated the covenant of the Lord and has brought calamity upon all of Israel.’”
16 So, early the next morning, Joshua brought the tribes of Israel before the Lord, and the tribe of Judah was indicated. 17 Then he brought the clans of Judah, and the clan of Zerah was singled out. Then the families of that clan were brought before the Lord and the family of Zabdi was indicated. 18 Zabdi’s family was brought man by man, and his grandson Achan was found to be the guilty one.
19 Joshua said to Achan, “My son, give glory to the God of Israel and make your confession. Tell me what you have done.”
20 Achan replied, “I have sinned against the Lord, the God of Israel. 21 For I saw a beautiful robe imported from Babylon, and some silver worth $200, and a bar of gold worth $500. I wanted them so much that I took them, and they are hidden in the ground beneath my tent, with the silver buried deeper than the rest.”
22 So Joshua sent some men to search for the loot. They ran to the tent and found the stolen goods hidden there just as Achan had said, with the silver buried beneath the rest. 23 They brought it all to Joshua and laid it on the ground in front of him. 24 Then Joshua and all the Israelites took Achan, the silver, the robe, the wedge of gold, his sons, his daughters, his oxen, donkeys, sheep, his tent, and everything he had, and brought them to the valley of Achor.
25 Then Joshua said to Achan, “Why have you brought calamity upon us? The Lord will now bring calamity upon you.”
And the men of Israel stoned them to death and burned their bodies, 26 and piled a great heap of stones upon them. The stones are still there to this day, and even today that place is called “The Valley of Calamity.” And so the fierce anger of the Lord was ended.
137 Weeping, we sat beside the rivers of Babylon thinking of Jerusalem. 2 We have put away our lyres, hanging them upon the branches of the willow trees, 3-4 for how can we sing? Yet our captors, our tormentors, demand that we sing for them the happy songs of Zion! 5-6 If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget its skill upon the harp. If I fail to love her more than my highest joy, let me never sing again.
7 O Jehovah, do not forget what these Edomites did on that day when the armies of Babylon captured Jerusalem. “Raze her to the ground!” they yelled. 8 O Babylon, evil beast, you shall be destroyed. Blessed is the man who destroys you as you have destroyed us. 9 Blessed is the man who takes your babies and smashes them against the rocks![a]
138 Lord, with all my heart I thank you. I will sing your praises before the armies of angels.[b] 2 I face your Temple as I worship, giving thanks to you for all your loving-kindness and your faithfulness, for your promises are backed by all the honor of your name.[c] 3 When I pray, you answer me and encourage me by giving me the strength I need.
4 Every king in all the earth shall give you thanks, O Lord, for all of them shall hear your voice. 5 Yes, they shall sing about Jehovah’s glorious ways, for his glory is very great. 6 Yet though he is so great, he respects the humble, but proud men must keep their distance. 7 Though I am surrounded by troubles, you will bring me safely through them. You will clench your fist against my angry enemies! Your power will save me. 8 The Lord will work out his plans for my life—for your loving-kindness, Lord, continues forever. Don’t abandon me—for you made me.
1 1-2 These are God’s messages to Jeremiah the priest (the son of Hilkiah) who lived in the town of Anathoth in the land of Benjamin. The first of these messages came to him in the thirteenth year of the reign of Amon’s son Josiah, king of Judah. 3 Others came during the reign of Josiah’s son Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and at various other times until July of the eleventh year of the reign of Josiah’s son Zedekiah, king of Judah, when Jerusalem was captured and the people were taken away as slaves.
4 The Lord said to me, 5 “I knew you before you were formed within your mother’s womb; before you were born I sanctified you and appointed you as my spokesman to the world.”
6 “O Lord God,” I said, “I can’t do that! I’m far too young! I’m only a youth!”
7 “Don’t say that,” he replied, “for you will go wherever I send you and speak whatever I tell you to. 8 And don’t be afraid of the people, for I, the Lord, will be with you and see you through.”
9 Then he touched my mouth and said, “See, I have put my words in your mouth! 10 Today your work begins, to warn the nations and the kingdoms of the world. In accord with my words spoken through your mouth I will tear down some and destroy them, and plant others, nurture them, and make them strong and great.”
11 Then the Lord said to me, “Look, Jeremiah! What do you see?”
And I replied, “I see a whip made from the branch of an almond tree.”
12 And the Lord replied, “That’s right, and it means that I will surely carry out my threats of punishment.”[a]
13 Then the Lord asked me, “What do you see now?”
And I replied, “I see a pot of boiling water, tipping southward, spilling over Judah.”[b]
14 “Yes,” he said, “for terror from the north will boil out upon all the people of this land. 15 I am calling the armies of the kingdoms of the north to come to Jerusalem and set their thrones at the gates of the city and all along its walls, and in all the other cities of Judah. 16 This is the way I will punish my people for deserting me and for worshiping other gods—yes, idols they themselves have made! 17 Get up and dress and go out and tell them whatever I tell you to say. Don’t be afraid of them, or else I will make a fool of you in front of them. 18 For see, today I have made you impervious to their attacks. They cannot harm you. You are strong like a fortified city that cannot be captured, like an iron pillar and heavy gates of brass. All the kings of Judah, its officers, priests, and people will not be able to prevail against you. 19 They will try, but they will fail. For I am with you,” says the Lord. “I will deliver you.”
15 Some Pharisees and other Jewish leaders now arrived from Jerusalem to interview Jesus.
2 “Why do your disciples disobey the ancient Jewish traditions?” they demanded. “For they ignore our ritual of ceremonial handwashing before they eat.” 3 He replied, “And why do your traditions violate the direct commandments of God? 4 For instance, God’s law is ‘Honor your father and mother; anyone who reviles his parents must die.’ 5-6 But you say, ‘Even if your parents are in need, you may give their support money to the church[a] instead.’ And so, by your man-made rule, you nullify the direct command of God to honor and care for your parents. 7 You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, 8 ‘These people say they honor me, but their hearts are far away. 9 Their worship is worthless, for they teach their man-made laws instead of those from God.’[b]”
10 Then Jesus called to the crowds and said, “Listen to what I say and try to understand: 11
12 Then the disciples came and told him, “You offended the Pharisees by that remark.”
13-14 Jesus replied, “Every plant not planted by my Father shall be rooted up, so ignore them. They are blind guides leading the blind, and both will fall into a ditch.”
15 Then Peter asked Jesus to explain what he meant when he said that people are not defiled by nonkosher food.
16 “Don’t you understand?” Jesus asked him. 17 “Don’t you see that anything you eat passes through the digestive tract and out again? 18 But evil words come from an evil heart and defile the man who says them. 19 For from the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, lying, and slander. 20 These are what defile; but there is no spiritual defilement from eating without first going through the ritual of ceremonial handwashing!”
21 Jesus then left that part of the country and walked the fifty miles to Tyre and Sidon.[d]
22 A woman from Canaan who was living there came to him, pleading, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, King David’s Son! For my daughter has a demon within her, and it torments her constantly.”
23 But Jesus gave her no reply—not even a word. Then his disciples urged him to send her away. “Tell her to get going,” they said, “for she is bothering us with all her begging.”
24 Then he said to the woman, “I was sent to help the Jews—the lost sheep of Israel—not the Gentiles.”
25 But she came and worshiped him and pled again, “Sir, help me!”
26 “It doesn’t seem right to take bread from the children and throw it to the dogs,” he said.
27 “Yes, it is!” she replied, “for even the puppies beneath the table are permitted to eat the crumbs that fall.”
28 “Woman,” Jesus told her, “your faith is large, and your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed right then.
29 Jesus now returned to the Sea of Galilee and climbed a hill and sat there. 30 And a vast crowd brought him their lame, blind, maimed, and those who couldn’t speak, and many others, and laid them before Jesus, and he healed them all. 31 What a spectacle it was! Those who hadn’t been able to say a word before were talking excitedly, and those with missing arms and legs had new ones; the crippled were walking and jumping around, and those who had been blind were gazing about them! The crowds just marveled and praised the God of Israel.
32 Then Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I pity these people—they’ve been here with me for three days now and have nothing left to eat; I don’t want to send them away hungry or they will faint along the road.”
33 The disciples replied, “And where would we get enough here in the desert for all this mob to eat?”
34 Jesus asked them, “How much food do you have?” And they replied, “Seven loaves of bread and a few small fish!”
35 Then Jesus told all of the people to sit down on the ground, 36 and he took the seven loaves and the fish, and gave thanks to God for them, and divided them into pieces, and gave them to the disciples who presented them to the crowd. 37-38 And everyone ate until full—four thousand men besides the women and children! And afterwards, when the scraps were picked up, there were seven basketfuls left over!
39 Then Jesus sent the people home and got into the boat and crossed to Magadan.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.